Ventilation apparatus

ABSTRACT

A ventilation apparatus, which is installed in the ceiling of a room, particularly a kitchen, laundry or the like. The ventilation apparatus (1) comprises a wall element (3) directed downwardly from the ceiling, which wall element is formed of a number of elongated parts (4) provided with vertical chambers (5). The shells (6) of the parts (4) are provided with inlet apertures (7), through which apertures and chambers the exhaust air is conducted out of the room.

The present invention relates to the ventilation apparatus.

In the prior art there are known ventilation arrangements which areinstalled in the ceiling of the room, and where the ventilation isrealized by using air exhaustion means arranged inside a hood. Inconnection with the ventilation arrangement, there is installed,generally at an oblique angle, filtering cells, particularly degreasingcells. The purpose of the filtering is to separate contaminations fromthe exhaust air and to prevent harmful and inflammable materials inparticular from entering the ventilation system. Such ventilationarrangements are introduced for instance in the publications DE-A3,309,208 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,689.

The problem with the existing arrangements is that they are applicableonly locally. Normally the hood, for example in a kitchen, is installedabove the stove, and its purpose is exactly to collect the vapours andfumes created by cooking, and to remove these from the kitchen.

Another drawback with the known devices is that the employed degreasingcells are difficult to keep clean.

in the prior art there are also known so-called false ceilingarrangements, which advantageously cover the whole kitchen or thecorresponding ceiling. The input air is conducted to the space from theperipheral areas thereof. Such ventilation arrangements are introducedfor instance in the publications DE-A 2,718,611 and U.S. Pat. No.4,354,863.

A drawback with these arrangements is that the rising air streamscontaining impurities can proceed unobstructed along the ceilingsurface, which consequently increases the exhaust air currents.

Another drawback with these known arrangements is that from theessentially horizontal filter elements, impurities such as water, greaseetc. drop on the floor and on the equipment arranged in the room, forinstance on stoves.

Yet another drawback is the feeding of input air to the space inquestion. It is difficult to be arranged effectively.

Another drawback is the fact that noise and sounds in general can freelyproceed in the described false ceiling arrangements. Hence, from thepoint of view of acoustics, the false ceiling arrangements areunsatisfactory.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above describeddrawbacks. A particular object of the invention is to realize aventilation apparatus for demanding room spaces, which apparatus isflexible in installation and easy to maintain.

The ventilation apparatus of the invention is characterized by the novelfeatures enlisted in the appended patent claim 1.

The ventilation apparatus of the invention comprises at least one wallelement directed essentially downwardly from the ceiling, which wallelement is composed of a number of elongate parts provided with verticalchambers, the shell of these parts containing inlet apertures, throughwhich apertures and chambers the exhaust air is conducted out of thespace in question.

In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus, the inlet apertures arearranged on both sides of the wall element.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the wall element isdetachably secured to the ceiling.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the wall element isformed of at least one module.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in conjunction withthe wall element, there is arranged a filter.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, each module includes atop plate, whereby the module can be secured to the ceiling, tocorresponding fastening rails in connection with the ventilation ductnetwork.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, in between theventilation duct network and the module, there is provided a filtersupported against the fastening rails, at the bottom edge whereof thereis arranged another set of rails to which the module is secured.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, each wall element isformed as a filter comprising a cylindrical chamber, the inlet apertureswhereof are shaped as at least roughly vertical slots in the top part ofthe chamber, and provided with guides for setting the incoming exhaustair current into turbulent motion in the chamber, in order to clean theair mainly by using centrifugal force.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the slots are wider atthe bottom than at the top.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the slots are arrangedaround the chamber at the same height and at even intervals.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the length of theslots is less than half, and advantageously one third of the height ofthe chamber.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the guide incorporatesa part of the shell which is bent from the shell towards the chamber.

In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the bottom part ofthe chamber includes a detachable bottom element.

An advantage of the invention is that it combines both general and localventilation in an effective fashion.

Another advantage of the invention is that it is flexible in structure.By means of the wall elements, one or several sections in the ceiling ofa particular room can be marked off in order to arrange the ventilationin the most advantageous fashion.

Another advantage of the invention is that by means of the ventilationapparatus, the air streams proceeding near the ceiling surface arestopped, and their progress to the other side of the wall element isprevent.

yet another advantage of the invention is that the installation of thefilters is simplified, or alternatively the wall element itself can beformed as a filtering unit, where each elongate part of the wall isformed as a filter. The separation rate of this kind of a filter issufficiently high to prevent the contamination of the ventilation ductnetwork and the blowing devices. The pressure loss in the filtering unitis not essentially changed during operation. Moreover, the saidfiltering unit is easy to maintain and fireproof, and it lengthensremarkably the maintenance intervals and working age of any auxiliary orfine filtering equipment possible used in connection thereto.

Yet another advantage of the invention is that it is easily connectableto a ventilation system.

Yet another advantage of the invention is that in conjunction to thewall element, there can be employed auxiliary filters which are easilyreplaceable.

Another further advantage of the invention is that it is acousticallyadvantageous. The creation and transmission of extra noises isessentially limited in the assembly of the invention by means of itsdesign, location and modular structure.

Yet another advantage of the invention is that the ventilation apparatusis generally speaking easy to maintain and install owing to its simplebasic structure.

The invention is explained in more detail below, with reference to theappended drawings where

FIG. 1 is a front-view illustration of a ventilation apparatus of theinvention, seen in partial section;

FIG. 2 is a side-view illustration of the apparatus of FIG. 1, seen inpartial transversal section;

FIG. 3 illustrates the ventilation apparatus of FIG. 2 in a lengthwisesection along the line C--C;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a wall module of a preferred embodiment ofthe ventilation apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a detailed illustration of the apertures of one elongate partof the wall element;

FIG. 6 illustrates the elongate part of FIG. 5, seen in cross-section atthe apertures;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a ventilation apparatus of the invention,provided with a filter above the wall element; and

FIG. 8 illustrates an auxiliary filter.

FIG. 1 shows the ventilation apparatus of the invention, installed forinstance in the ceiling of an institutional kitchen. The ventilationapparatus 1 comprises a wall element 3, which is direct essentiallydownwardly from the ceiling 2. In this case the wall element 3 is formedof two identical wall modules 3a and 3b, composed of a number ofelongate parts 4. Each part 4 has a chamber 5 and a surrounding shell 6.The shell 6 is provided with inlet apertures 7, which connect thechamber 5 to the room space. The apertures 7 of each elongate part 4 arearranged on both sides A, B (cf. FIG. 2) of the wall element 3.Respectively, each part 4 is provided with an outlet aperture 8, whichconnects the chamber 5 to the ventilation duct network 9. In each module3a, 3b, the chambers 5 are closed at the bottom by means of a bottompart 15.

In this case each of the wall modules 3a, 3b include five elongate parts4. These parts are arranged vertically adjacently, or separated byintermediate plates 10 placed in between them. At the top, the elongateparts 4 of the module 3a, 3b are connected to each other by means of atop plate 11. The outlet apertures 8 are suitably arranged in the topplate 11. The long sides of the top plate 11 form the shoulders 12. Thefastening rails 13 are arranged in the ceiling structure, in thevicinity of the ventilation duct network 9, or directly in theventilation duct network 9, at a suitable distance from each other, sothat by means of the shoulders 12 the wall module 3a, 3b can bedetachably secured in connection to the ventilation duct network.

In conjunction to the ventilation apparatus of the invention, there isalso arranged a filter. The said filter can be located inside thechamber 5 as a socket-like element 14, as is seen in FIG. 3. The filterelements 14 are formed of some suitable filtering materials known assuch in the prior art. When required, they can most advantageously bereplaced or removed for cleaning. The bottom part 15 of each wall module3a, 3b is detachable in order to provide for the maintenance of thefilter elements 14.

The edges of the bottom part 15 of the wall modules 3a, 3b, which areparallel to the lengthwise direction of the module, can be provided withprotrusions 16. These protrusions 16 are either stationary or detachablewith respect to the bottom part 15.

The ventilation apparatus 1 of the invention can also be realized byemploying wall modules 3c shown in FIG. 4. In this case both theelongate parts 4 and the chambers 5 are cylindrical, and the inletapertures are formed as slots 17, roughly parallel to the central axisof the chamber. These inlet apertures, or slots 17, are advantageouslyarranged in the top part of the chamber 5, around the chamber, at thesame height and at even intervals. The length of the slots 17 is onethird of the height of the chamber. In addition to this, the slots 17are provided with guides 18, as is apparent from FIGS. 5 and 6.

When realized in this fashion, each of the elongate parts 4 of the wallelement is formed as a filter, where the exhaust air current is set to aturbulent motion in the chamber 5 in order to clean the air mainly byusing centrifugal force.

In other aspects of it structure, the wall module 3c corresponds to thewall modules 3a, 3b described in connection with FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, andconsequently like reference numbers apply to like parts.

The structure and operation of the elongate part 4 of the wall element3c is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. In cross-section, the chamber 5 is around cylinder, the top part whereof is provided with inlet apertures,i.e. slots 17. In this case they are formed of the shell as follows. Asection 19 is made in the shell 16, this section being vertical, i.e.parallel to the axis of the chamber 5, and at the bottom end of thissection 19, there is made a perpendicular and shorter transversalsection 20. Along the line 21, which connects those ends of the twosections that do not meet, the tongue-shaped part of the shell isslightly bent inside, i.e. into the chamber 5, thus forming a guide 18.In this fashion, the shell is provided with the slot 17, the widthwhereof grows smoothly from top to bottom, and simultaneously opensdownwards in the region of the section 19. The slot 17 is directedessentially tangentially to the inner surface of the shell 6 of thechamber 5.

The elongate part 4 of the wall module 3c is operated as follows. Whenthe suction of the ventilation duct network 9 affects the chamber 5through the outlet aperture 8, there is created an air current in theslot 17, in the direction of the arrows 22. In the top part of the slot17, there is formed a relatively small and essentially horizontal aircurrent. The volume of the air current grows while proceeding downwardsin the slot 17, and at the same time the direction of the current isturned downwards. The largest and most powerful air current takes placein the bottom part of the slot 17, and is directed towards the bottompart of the chamber 5 as a centrifugal circulation rotating against theshell 6 of the chamber. Thus the chamber 5 for the most part functionsas a centrifugal air separator, where the exhaust air rises upwardsalong the central part of the chamber 5. In the top part of the chamber,the main filtering mechanism is based on the effect of impact.Impurities are collected on the inner surface of the chamber 5, andfurther in the bottom part 15, wherefrom they are removed at suitableintervals.

The wall module is advantageously made of two plates 23 and 24 attachedagainst each other, as is seen in FIGS. 3 and 6. In the plates 23, 34there are formed, on respective spots, recesses corresponding to thehalves of the chamber 5, provided with inlet apertures or slots 17. Thusthe wall modules 3a, 3b and 3c can be combine to wall elements withdifferent lengths and shapes, according to the needs in each case,economically and in a simple fashion.

The advantageous measures of a single wall module, and particularlythose of the wall module 3c of FIG. 4, are as follows. The diameter ofthe chamber 5 is between 45 . . . 100 mm, and the length thereof between200 . . . 450 mm. The width of the slots 17 of the chamber 5 is in thebottom end 10 . . . 15 mm, and in the top end 2 . . . 4 mm.

In between the wall element 3, particularly the wall module 3a, 3b or3c, and the ceiling 2, there can be arranged an auxiliary filter 25, asis illustrated in FIG. 7. The auxiliary filter 25 is formed as a boxessentially having the shape of a right-angled parallelopiped, which boxis filled with some suitable filtering material 26, known as such in theprior art. The top and bottom plates 27, 28 of the filter are providedwith apertures 31 and 32 respectively, through which apertures the airto be filtered is arranged to flow. The long edges of the top plate 27of the filter form shoulders 29, whereby the filter can be secured tothe fastening rails 13 provided in connection with the ventilation ductnetwork. The long edges of the bottom plate 28 of the filter areprovided with fastening rails 30, corresponding to the fastening rails13, where the wall module 3a can respectively be secured by means of thetop plate 11.

The top plate 27 of the filter 25 and the top plate 11 of the wallmodule 3a are essentially similar in dimensions; the same applies to thefastening rails 13, provided in connection with the ventilation ductnetwork, and the fastening rails 30 of the filter. Consequently, whennecessary, the ventilation duct network 9 can be simply provided with awall element 3, particularly a suitable wall module 3a, 3c; or, whenextra filtering is desired in between the ventilation duct network 9 andthe wall element 3, there can also be installed an auxiliary filter 25as is illustrated in FIG. 7.

In principle, the ventilation apparatus of the invention is operated asfollows. The ventilation apparatus 1 is installed for instance in theceiling of a kitchen, at a suitable distance from the stove or othersuch kitchen equipment creating powerful rising air currents. When thevertically rising convection current meets the ceiling, it is spread outtowards all directions as a fairly thin layer. When meeting the wallelement 3, it is partly sucked into the ventilation duct network 9through the inlet apertures 7 or slots 17, chambers 5 and outletapertures 8, and further out of the room. Part of the convection currentis turned down at the wall element 3, and if the bottom part of the wallelement is provided with a suitable protrusion 16, the current isturned, at least partly, towards its original direction at an obliqueangle, and proceeds further as a partial turbulence upwards and is mixedin the air of the room, as is illustrated by arrows in FIG. 2. It ispointed out that owing to the wall element 3, the convection current isnot circulated around the room after meeting the ceiling 2, but the wallelement 3 limits the circulation of these currents, as well as theodours and particles connected thereto, so that they are not transportedaround the room.

The wall elements 3, particularly the wall modules 3a, 3b or 3c, can belocated in the ceiling 2 of the room as desired. For example, they canbe arranged as a square or rectangular ventilation area in that part ofthe ceiling which is located above kitchen equipment or othercorresponding equipment producing vapours etc. On the other hand, theceiling area can be divided into sections by means of the wall elements3 as desired. Short wall elements, particularly wall modules 3a; 3b; 3c,can be particularly arranged above the equipment creating convectioncurrents, in the immediate vicinity thereof, in order to ensuresufficient ventilation.

The invention is not limited to the above described preferredembodiments only, but many modifications are possible within the scopeof the inventional idea defined in the appended patent claims.

We claim:
 1. A ventilation apparatus for attachment to the ceiling of akitchen, laundry or other location, the ventilation apparatus (1)comprising at least one wall element (3) extending essentiallydownwardly from the ceiling into a room space and configured to containfumes in a particular location, the wall element (3) being formed of aplurality of interconnected elongated members (4) defining verticalchambers (5) having inlet aperture (7;17) in fluid communication withthe room space and outlets (8) in fluid communication with a ventilationduct network (9), so that exhaust air is conducted through the inletaperture and out of the room through the outlets (8).
 2. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein the inlet apertures (7;17) are arranged on oppositesides (A,B) of the wall element (3).
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe wall element (3) is detachable from the ceiling.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the wall element (3) is formed of at least one module(3a,3b,3c).
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a filter (25) isinterposed between the ceiling and the wall element (3).
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein a top plate (11) is attached to the wallelement (3) proximate the outlets (8) for engagement with acorresponding fastening rails (13) attached to the ceiling proximate aventilation duct network (9).
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein afilter element (25) is interposed between the ceiling and the wallelement (3), the filter element (25) having a top plate proximate an airoutlet side of the filter element (25) for engagement with the fasteningrails (13) on the ceiling and fastening rails on an air inlet side ofthe filter element (25) for engagement with the top plate (11) on thewall element (3).
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the elongatedmembers (4) form cylindrical filter chambers (5) having roughly verticalslots (17) proximate the outlets (8), the slots (17) including guidesmeans (18) for setting the incoming exhaust air current into turbulentmotion within the chamber (5) so that the air is cleaned by centrifugalforce.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the slots (17) becomeincreasingly wider further away from the outlet (8), the slots beingarranged around the chamber (5) at a generally uniform height and ateven intervals.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the guides (18) areconstructed by bending a portion of the elongated members (4) inwardtowards the inside of the chamber (5).
 11. The apparatus of claim 9wherein the length of the slots (17) is less than half the height of thechamber (5).